Garment for orthopedic patients



July 5, 1949. M. A. SHEARD GARMENT FOR ORTHOPEDIC PATIENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 25, 1947 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS July 5,' 194-9. SHEARD 2,475,058

GARMENT FOR ORTHOPEDIC PATIENTS Filed Feb. 25, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR AT Tom 265 Patented July 5, 1949 UNITED FSTATE'S PATEEENT iQFiF CE GARMENT FOR ORTHOPE'DIC PATIENTS Mary .A. .Sheard, Bufialo, N. Y. Application February'25, 1947, Serial No. 730,789

3 Claims.

1 This invention relates to a garment for orthopedic patients and more particularly to a pa ama blouse which-can'be readilyapplied to a patient plied without :bending .-or unbending the injured arm :of'the patient regardless .of the position in which .the iniuredarm is held. Where the treatment requires "that the arm be held in a fixed position or where itis painful to move the arm,

thisccnsideration is, ,cf.:course, mostimportant.

Another object is to provide such a pajama blouse awhich rcanbe quickly and easily applied to thematient, thereby to expedite the handlin of orthopedic patients.

Another aimis-to provide such a pajama blouse which is low in cost and can be made of any suitable materiaLand-embodyany styling desired.

Other .objectsand advantages of the invention will appear from the following description and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view-of a pajama blouse embodying the invention and showing the same applied tea-patient havingone armin a sling,

Figs. .2, 3 and 4 are enlarged sectional views taken onthe correspondinglines of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the garment showing the slits or slashes along the arm and side of the'blouse opened to permit ready application of the garment to the patient with his arm in a sling as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the garment as shown in Fig. 5. a

The garment is shown as being generally in the form of a conventional pajama blouse having a pair of rear panels l0, Ill joined by a vertical central seam H, a pair of front panels l2, l2

forming an openable front secured together by buttons 13, or in any other suitable manner, and a collar 14 of any suitable form at the top of the garment. The body of the blouse as above described can be made in any conventional mannor from any suitable materials and is formed with arm holes 1.5 below its shoulder portions 16 and to thesedges of which the sleevesZ-Oaresewed.

Each sleeve comprises a front section 2! and a rear section 22, each .tront section 2| being stitched to the corresponding front body :panel 1 2 aroundthe armhole 15 as indicatedat'23-and each rear section 2.2 being stitched to the correspondingrear body-panel 1 lies indicated at'24. A cuff 25 is provided at the outer extremity of each sleeve.

The two sections '21 and'2-2 of each sleeve are open or separated from each other along a line extending alongthe outsideof thesleeve fromthe' arm hole 15 through the corresponding cuff 25, the outer slit or slash26 formed thereby extending the full length of the sleeve along its outer side and extending into the corresponding shoulder portion Hi o'f the body of the arment. This slit or slash 26 so extending the full length of each sleeve along its outer side is capable of being closed in any suitable manner as by'the provision of mating snap fasteners 28 along the opposite edges of this slit or slash.

.Each sleeve'is additionally provided with a slit or slash 29 along itsinner side, this slit or slash 29 :being diametrically-opposite the slit or slash'26. This inner slit or slas'hidextendsfrom the ccrre-' sponding arm hole 15 to a point 30 a substantial distance short of the corresponding cuff .25, and beyond'the arm hole this inner slit or slash29 extends downwardly along the corresponding side of the body of the blouse between the front and rear panels l0 and i2 thereof and to a point :31 a substantial distance above the bottom of the blouse.

Below the slit or slash *29 the {front and rear body-panels l0 and 12 of the blouse are permanentlysecured together by lines of stitching 32. The-inner-slit or slash-291s capable of being closed as by the provision-of rows of mating snap fasteners 33 along the edges of this slit or slash.

The provision of the inner and outer slits or slashes 29 and '26 of the form described, together with the rows of mating snap fasteners 33 and 28 greatly facilitates the application of the blouse to the patient without bending or unbending his injured arm regardless of the position in which the arm may be required to be held. For example, in Fig. 1, the patient is shown as having his right arm in a sling and it will be assumed that it is necessary to apply the blouse without bending or unbending this arm.

In so applying the garment the buttons l3 and snap fasteners 28 and 33 of the right hand sleeve 20 are first unfastened. The left arm of the pan,

tient, which is assumed to be in normal condition, is then slipped into the left sleeve and the shoulders [6 of the garment draped over the patlents shoulders. The injured right arm is then slipped out of the sling and, without bending or unbending this arm, the right hand side of the garment is then brought forward so that the arm is brought through the two slits or slashes 29 and 26 and so that the unfastened sleeve sections and the front right panel l3 are interposed between the injured arm and the body of the patient. The injured arm is then replaced in the sling and the right hand cuff 25 drawn around the forearm of the injured arm and secured by its pair of snap fasteners 28. The remainder of this row of snap fasteners 28 are then fastened, following which the mating snap fasteners 33 for the inner slit or slash 29 are secured together. The pajama blouse is as readily removed from the patient by a reverse of the above procedure.

It will be seen that the pajama blouse is of normal appearance and can be styled in any desired manner thereby to provide the patient with a garment of normal appearance which encourages him to be seen and to get up and around with the other patients thereby to obtain the value of normal exercise which is of great importance in orthopedic cases. Further, the two slashes extending through the sleeves and body of the blouse permit of the ready application of the blouse Without bending or unbending an injured arm and at the same time greatly facilitate the application of the garment, particularly in terminating the inner slit or shash short of the cuff 25 and also short of the bottom of the blouse, this feature preserving the one-piece form of the garment so that there is no question in the mind of the nurse as to which fasteners should be secured together and as to how the blouse should be draped and manipulated.

I claim:

1. A pajama blouse for orthopedic patients, comprising a blouse body having neck and shoulder portions, sleeves extending from said body portion adjacent said shoulder portions, at least one of said sleeves being provided with an outer slit extending from adjacent the corresponding shoulder portion longitudinally the full length of said sleeve and permitting said one of said sleeves to be laid open from one end thereof to the other and said one of said sleeves being also provided with an inner slit extending longitudinally of said sleeve from a point spaced from the outer extremity of said sleeve to said body portion and extending thence downwardly through said body portion to a point spaced from the bottom thereof, and means for fastening the edges of said slits together, said slits, when unfastened, permitting said one of said sleeves to be brought into enclosing relation with the corresponding arm of the patient regardless of the position of the arm and without disturbing such position.

2. A pajama blouse for orthopedic patients, comprising a blouse body having neck, shoulder and armpit portions, sleeves extending from said body portion adjacent said shoulder and armpit portions, cuffs on said sleeves, at least one of said sleeves being provided with an outer slit extending from adjacent the corresponding shoulder portion longitudinally the full length of said sleeve and through its cuff and permitting said one of said sleeves to be laid open from one end thereof to the other, and said one of said sleeves being also provided with an inner slit diametrically opposite said outer slit and extending from a point spaced from its cuff to said armpit portion and extending thence downwardly through said body portion to a point spaced from the bottom thereof, and means for fastening the edges of said slits together, said slits, when unfastened, permitting said one of said sleeves to be brought into enclosing relation with the corresponding arm of the patient regardless of the position of the arm and without disturbing such position.

3. A pajama blouse for orthopedic patients, comprising a blouse body having neck, shoulder and armpit portions, sleeves extending from said body portion adjacent said shoulder and armpit portions, cuffs on said sleeves, at least one of said sleeves being provided with an outer slit extending from the outer extremity of its cuff the full length of said sleeve and through the adjacent shoulder portion adjacent the neck portion of the blouse and permitting said one of said sleeves to be laid open from one end thereof to the other, and said one of said sleeves being also provided with an inner slit diametrically opposite said outer slit and extending from a point spaced from its cuff to said armpit portion and extending thence downwardly through said body portion to a point spaced from the bottom thereof, and means for fastening the edges of said slits together, said slits, when unfastened, permitting said one of said sleeves to be brought into enclosing relation with the corresponding arm of the patient regardless of the position of the arm and without disturbing such position.

MARY A. SHEARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,010,679 Padernacht Dec. 5, 1911 2,153,838 Jay Apr. 11, 1939 2,374,643 Boettcher May 1, 1945 

